Question

For much of my childhood, my mother filled the evening hours doing something for someone else. Sometimes she knitted (编织) hats for babies, and at other times she cooked chicken soup for sick neighbors. Therefore, I wasn't ________when one evening my mother announced she'd start a new project.

"I'm going to telephone neighboring________every night," said my mother.

"Every night? But you don't even________these people. "

"Doesn't matter," she said. "What's important is that I want to listen."

I was sixteen years old and couldn't figure out why my mother was willing to spend her evenings talking to strangers. She had friends and my two elder sisters to call________she felt lonely.

My________didn't affect my mother's project. That evening after supper, she settled on the sofa with the phone and began making phone calls.

For a while, I listened as she asked the lady on the phone about her day, what she had eaten for dinner, and asked if she had _________that the beautiful roses had come out in a neighboring park. When she finished the call, I said, "What do you________whether she had cookie or cream pie for dessert?"

My mother replied, "I'm the_______ person she talked to today."

It took me nearly thirty years to understand the________of what she was doing. Now, as my mother is nearing sixty, I find myself thinking about those nightly________she used to make.

I am often the only person who telephones my mother, and sometimes I'm the only person she speaks to all day. I ask her what she cooked for dinner, but mostly I just_______ as she describes a walk she took, or how her dog Lucky stole a piece of cheese from the kitchen.

I_______ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world. Somehow, she managed to work full-time and _______a family while improving the lives of others.

That kind of _______needs commitment (奉献，投入) and organizational skills that I do not have. While she freed several seniors from________, I struggle to call just one － my mother.

1.A. interested    B. satisfied    C. surprised    D. excited

2.A. teenagers    B. children    C. juniors    D. seniors

3.A. meet    B. know    C. pass    D. find

4.A. because    B. if    C. though    D. until

5.A. doubt    B. advice    C. answer    D. praise

6.A. decided    B. felt    C. noticed    D. imagined

7.A. hate    B. love    C. mean    D. care

8.A. only    B. early    C. first    D. last

9.A. difficulty    B. importance    C. possibility    D. difference

10.A. visits    B. orders    C. calls    D. cries

11.A. think    B. listen    C. talk    D. write

12.A. realize    B. explain    C. express    D. recognize

13.A. protect    B. start    C. affect    D. support

14.A. service    B. experience    C. promise    D. tradition

15.A. hopelessness    B. illness    C. loneliness    D. helplessness

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.B

5.A

6.C

7.D

8.A

9.B

10.C

11.B

12.A

13.D

14.A

15.C

【解析】这篇短文讲述了作者的妈妈每天晚上给附近孤独的老人们打电话，跟他们交流，让他们不再感到那么孤独。作者一开始不理解妈妈的这种行为，但是到后来妈妈变老了，他也开始每天跟妈妈打电话，才最终理解了妈妈过去做的那些事情多么重要。

1.句意：因此当有一天晚上我的妈妈宣布说她要开始一个新的计划的时候，我并不感到惊奇。interested 感兴趣的；satisfied 满意的，满足的；surprised 惊奇的；excited兴奋的，激动的。根据上文For much of my childhood, my mother filled the evening hours doing something for someone else可知，作者的妈妈晚上经常给别人做一些事情，所以当他的妈妈有新的计划的时候，他不觉得奇怪，故应选C。

2.句意：我的妈妈说：“我打算每天晚上给我们附近的老人打电话。” teenagers 青少年；children 孩子们；juniors 青少年，年少的人；seniors年老的人，年龄较长者。根据下文I___12___ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world.可知，作者的妈妈是给附近的孤独的老人打电话。故应选D。

3.句意：“每天晚上？但是你甚至都不认识那些人。” meet 遇见；know 知道；认识；pass 通过，经过；find发现，找到。根据下文I was sixteen years old and couldn't figure out why my mother was willing to spend her evenings talking to strangers.可知，作者当时不理解为什么妈妈愿意给一些陌生人打电话，所以那些人都是他妈妈不认识的人，故应选B。

4.句意：如果她感到孤独的话，她有一些朋友，还有我的两个姐姐可以去给他们打电话。because 因为，引导原因状语从句；if 如果，引导条件状语从句；though 虽然，尽管，引导让步状语从句；until直到…时候，引导时间状语从句。根据句意可知，这里表示条件，是如果的意思，故应选B。

5.句意：我的疑虑并没有影响我妈妈的这个计划。doubt 怀疑，疑惑；advice 建议；answer 回答；praise表扬，赞扬。根据上文"Every night? But you don't even____3____these people. "

可知，作者对妈妈的这个行为表示很不理解，但是这样的疑惑并没有让他的妈妈放弃这个计划，故应选A。

6.句意：有一段时间，妈妈打电话的时候，我就听着，她问电话中的女士她这一天的情况、晚饭吃了什么、还问她是否注意到附近公园里美丽的玫瑰都开花了。decided 决定；felt 感觉；noticed 注意到；imagined想象。根据句意公园里玫瑰开花这件事应该是注意到，故应选C。

7.句意：当她打完电话的时候，我说：“你为什么要关心她的甜点吃的小甜饼还是奶油馅饼？” hate 讨厌；恨；love 爱，喜欢；mean意思，意味着；care关心。根据上文I listened as she asked the lady on the phone about her day, what she had eaten for dinner可知，在电话中妈妈问那个女士晚饭吃了什么，作者觉得这些都是无所谓的事情，他不明白妈妈在电话中为什么要问这些，要关心陌生人的这些小事，故应选D。

8.句意：我的妈妈回答说：“我是今天唯一一个跟她交流的人。” only 唯一的，仅仅；early 早的；first 第一个；last最后一个。根据下文and sometimes I'm the only person she speaks to all day.以及I___12___ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world.可知，那些老人都是很孤独的，没有人跟他们交流，所以作者的妈妈是唯一跟她们交流的人，故应选A。

9.句意：花费了我将近30年的时候我才明白了妈妈做的这些事的重要性。difficulty困难；importance 重要性；possibility 可能性；difference区别，不同。根据下文I___12___ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world.可知，妈妈的电话让那些孤独的老人跟这个世界联系了起来，所以妈妈做这件事是有很大的意义的，是很重要的，故应选B。

10.句意：现在我的妈妈将近60岁了，我发现我自己想起了妈妈过去每天晚上打的那些电话。visits 拜访，参观；orders 命令；calls电话；cries哭喊。根据上文That evening after supper, she settled on the sofa with the phone and began making phone calls.可知，作者的妈妈每天晚上都给孤独的老人打电话，故应选C。

11.句意：我问她晚饭做了什么，但是大多数时候我只是听，听她描述她今天去散步，或者她的狗Lucky怎么从厨房里偷了一块奶酪。think 思考，认为；listen 听；talk谈话；write写。根据句意as she describes a walk she took, or how her dog Lucky stole a piece of cheese from the kitchen可知，妈妈在电话中描述她的这一天，而作者就在电话中听着，故应选B。

12.句意：我意识到我妈妈的电话就是生命之线，把那些孤独的老人跟这个世界联系起来。realize 意识到；explain 解释；express 表达；recognize辨认出。根据文意可知，在作者的妈妈也变老的时候，作者才明白了妈妈过去打的那些电话对于那些孤独的老人们来说是多么重要。故应选A。

13.句意：她有全职的工作、她养活了一个家庭，还改善了其他人的生活。protect 保护；start 开始；affect 影响；support支持，赡养。根据句意和空后的a family可知，作者的妈妈不仅有自己的工作，要赡养一个家庭，还改善了别人的生活，故应选D。

14.句意：那种服务需要奉献，以及我不具备的组织能力。service 服务；experience 经历；promise 承诺，诺言；tradition传统。根据句意可知，这里说的是妈妈给老人打电话，安慰孤独的老人，这是一种服务。故应选A。

15.句意：她让许多的老人从孤独中解放出来，而我只需要努力的给一个人打电话，那就是我的妈妈。hopelessness 没有希望；illness疾病；loneliness孤独；helplessness帮助。根据上文I___12___ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world.可知，妈妈打电话的那些老人都是很孤独的，而妈妈正是通过每天晚上给他们打电话，让他们从孤独中解放了出来。故应选C。

点睛：这篇短文是语篇记叙文，讲述了作者的妈妈每天晚上给附近孤独的老人们打电话，跟他们交流，让他们不再感到那么孤独。短文按照时间顺序记叙，从一开始作者不理解妈妈的这种行为，到后来妈妈变老了，他也开始每天跟妈妈打电话，才最终理解了妈妈过去做的那些事情多么重要。完形填空是综合性较强的一个题型，既需要学生具有阅读理解和推理判断的能力，还需要他们能正确使用词汇和句型。做题时，应先通读全文，了解大意和作者的写作意图；对于每个空需要注意空前后的词，和上下文的提示；最后要再读一遍短文，检查答案。很多题目的答案都是要根据上下文的逻辑关系和前后的照应才能做出来的，例如第2小题，选项中有teenagers 青少年；children 孩子们；juniors 青少年，年少的人；seniors年老的人，年龄较长者。我们是根据下文I___12___ that my mother's calls were lifelines (生命之线 ) that kept lonely seniors connected to the world.这句话可知，作者的妈妈是给附近的孤独的老人打电话，确定答案是D。再例如第10小题，选项包括visits 拜访，参观；orders 命令；calls电话；cries哭喊。我们可以根据上文That evening after supper, she settled on the sofa with the phone and began making phone calls.这句话，可以确定作者的妈妈每天晚上都给孤独的老人打电话，所以应选C。